The Bible makes it very clear that, unlike all other religions, which are works based, Christianity is grace based. And while doing good works are expected of the Christian, they are not the thing that saves us. All of us, before we come to Christ, are steeped in sin and totally separated from God. It is one of the clearest teachings of the New Testament that good works and being a good person won’t get us to heaven, for only forgiven people will make it there.
Before I became a Christian I did lots of good works. For example, I volunteered at a community center for people with emotional disabilities twice a week in New York City. At the time I did this “good work” back in the late 1970’s, I didn’t believe there was a God. However, I was desperately searching for meaning in life, and I thought that doing this good work would fill my life with some meaning.
About six months after I gave my heart to Jesus, back in 1981, God impressed on me to examine my motive for doing this good work. As I did, I began to see that my motivation was really selfish. The reason I did it was that there was a void in my life and I thought that by volunteering at this community center, I might fill the void in my life. Yes, people benefited by my good deed, but the real motivating factor was not to bless others but to bless me.
The fact that all religions, except Christianity, are works based, deceives their followers that somehow doing good deeds will make them right with their God. The danger of these man-made religions is very clear. They take the focus off of the fact that we are vile sinners and desperately in need of a savior and forgiveness to make us right with God. Christianity helps confront us with this reality and reveals our desperate need for Christ. And the exciting thing is that once we realize how sinful we really are it will hopefully cause us to truly repent and accept Jesus as our Savior.
Now, when I do good works as a Christian, I don’t do them to find meaning, but they are the overflow of a heart filled with thanksgiving, that wants to thank God for all He has done for me. Before I came to Christ the motive for doing good works was to satisfy a void in my life. Now as a believer, my motive is to glorify God and fill the voids in the lives of others. I like how Peter Kreeft put it: “We do not do good works to get into heaven; we do good works because heaven has gotten to us.”1
Satan will do everything in his power to convince people that if they only do enough good works that they can earn favor with their God. The Bible, fortunately shares with us that we are sinners and no amount of good works, before we come to Christ, can earn our way back into His presence.
How thankful I am that the Lord one day opened my blind eyes and allowed me to see that it was my sin, and not a lack of good works, that separated me from Jesus!
1 Peter Kreeft Quote: “We do not do good works to get into heaven; we do good works because heaven has gotten to us.” (quotefancy.com)